I was raised by a Southerner, "Mama Dot" who taught me to shell butter beans with the best of them and to say pithy things like, "Bless your heart" and "O' dem golden slippers", while drinking a glass of sweet tea, of course.  As to things that have motivated my writing, I would definitely say.. . . depression, spiritual abuse, parenthood, bullies, injustice, adoption, boredom and God--and not necessarily in that order.  Other than the skill with the butter beans, I have been to undergraduate and graduate school and ended up working as a counselor, praise and worship leader, teacher, speaker, program manager and a long time ago--a gal on roller skates who did singing telegrams as Dolly Parton.  When I am not watching as much of House MD as I possibly can, I can be found writing about whatever strikes my fancy, like. . . what happens to those socks that go missing in the dryer?. . .  

I have two ordination papers framed on my wall. . . one as a deacon and the other as a priest. . . oh yes, they are mine--from the Ceec.